Matthew 15:1-9
Christian Standard Bible
The Tradition of the Elders
15 Then(A) Jesus was approached by Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem, who asked,(B) 2 “Why do your disciples(C) break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.”[a](D)
3 He answered them, “Why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition? 4 For God said:[b] Honor your father and your mother;[c](E) and, Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.[d](F) 5 But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple,” 6 he does not have to honor his father.’[e] In this way, you have nullified the word of God[f] because of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:
8 This people[g] honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
9 They worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines human commands.”[h](G)
Footnotes
Matthew 15:1-9
New Living Translation
Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity
15 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.[c] And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’[d]”
Footnotes
- 15:4a Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.
- 15:4b Exod 21:17 (Greek version); Lev 20:9 (Greek version).
- 15:6 Greek their father; other manuscripts read their father or their mother.
- 15:8-9 Isa 29:13 (Greek version).
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
